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Steve Jobs, Shuttles, And FragBoxes: A Brief History Of Small Form Factor PCs

The ever-shrinking, console-sized gaming PCs that are steadily invading offices and living rooms alike have been called many things: Small Form-Factors (SFF), Shoebox Systems, Shuttles, and Micro-Towers. We’re perceiving it as a market that’s just emerging in the gaming space, but the origins of these compact systems can be traced back roughly 25 years — an eternity in the computer technology timeline!

Throughout the next few weeks I’ll be reviewing several high-powered “small form-factor” gaming PCs and profiling the boutique vendors behind them. But curiosity led me to researching the roots of these non-traditional case designs. Lo and behold, who should figure prominently in that research? The late Steve Jobs, a man quite fond of cubes and petite designs.

1990: The diminutive NeXTcube, a product of Steve Jobs' NeXT Computer

After being forced out of AppleApple, Jobs founded NeXT Computer in 1985 and went on to design the NeXTcube, a diminutive 12” x 12” x 12” workstation. Of course you may associate that cube design with Apple’s legendary (and short-lived) Power Mac G4 Cube in 2000. Designed primarily by Jonathan Ive (now Apple’s Senior VP of Industrial Design), the G4 Cube inherited the NeXTcube’s shape and shrunk the box down further to 7” x 7” x 7”. It was approximately ¼ the size of most existing personal computers.

2000: Apple's Power Mac G4 Cube

Fun fact: NeXT Computer’s first investor was American businessman and two-time presidential candidate Ross Perot.

When Apple discontinued the G4 Cube in 2001, Shuttle stepped in with a “shoebox” design called the SV24. Measuring 10.5” x 7.5” x 6.75”, the lightweight, brushed aluminum box looked pretty sexy for a PC released in 2001.

Apple and Shuttle weren’t the only companies leading the charge with space-saving intentions.

2001: The Shuttle SV24, which evolved into the XPC

I recently chatted with Kelt Reeves, founder and president of Falcon Northwest, about the history of small form-factor PCs and his company’s influential involvement. As someone who’s been immersed in the computer manufacturing industry since 1992, Reeves has some unique insights to share.

“The DellDell Optiplex is a perfect example, as those were designed to be strapped to the backside of a monitor and used an external power brick. [A practice alive and well in Alienware’s x51.] I can remember seeing that kind of unit in my doctor’s office pre-2000, though I doubt you’d ever see an enthusiast calling that an SFF and trying to play a game on it,” Reeves explains. “Shuttle was the first making anything powerful enough that our gaming/enthusiast market paid any attention to it. But even the Shuttle was still a proprietary chassis/motherboard/power supply solution and not an industry standard.”

Dell's Optiplex was a common sight in offices, schools, and libraries

Falcon Northwest is known for unabashedly catering to the high-end gaming enthusiast. During the company’s formative years, they built expensive systems meant to harness the power of one particular genre taking the PC industry by storm: Flight Simulators. But as time went on and first-person shooters like Wolfenstein 3D and Doom rose in popularity, an important trend emerged: LAN parties.

In 2003, Falcon Northwest released the FragBox with the intention of providing a full-powered gaming desktop in a portable package for LAN parties. Initially the FragBox used a case from First International Computer, but the limitations prevented Reeves from unleashing what he thought the FragBox capable of.

“We were at the mercy of FIC on its capabilities and they could not be upgraded. The [Power Supply Units] were too small, and the motherboards not enthusiast-oriented,” Reeves explains. “When I designed what we now think of as the FragBox, it was actually called the FragBox 2 and that was 2004. I believe the FragBox 2 was the first non-proprietary SFF case, as I designed it from our own need that such a small form-factor chassis for micro-ATX (then the smallest industry standard that met a gamer’s needs) did not exist.”

Flash forward to present day, and a multitude of these miniaturized but capable gaming PCs have emerged. Companies like ASUS and NVIDIA are enabling more powerful, cooler components able to squeeze into smaller spaces. Vendors ranging from Origin to MAINGEAR to Digital Storm are all rushing to fill those spaces.

So this month, I’ll be presenting an exhaustive hands-on comparison of these systems and profiles of the companies behind them. It’s been a thrilling adventure thus far, and I’m looking forward to sharing it with you.

Of this roundup, Reeves tells me “you’re actually reviewing 4 of what the industry is considering a new class of system. It’s so new there isn’t agreement yet on what to call them.”

Falcon Northwest's Tiki is the effectively the Lamborghini of Gaming PCs

This is in part because IntelIntel hasn’t officially “blessed” the form factor. Manufacturer descriptions run the gamut from “Mini Gaming Desktop” to “Slim Tower” to the more traditional “Small Form Factor.” For their part, though, Falcon Northwest considers their Tiki – a ridiculously mighty system with a cubic volume of only 715.5 inches — a “micro-tower.”

Regardless of what we call them, this new breed of gaming PC is here to stay, and its gaze is likely fixed on your living room. But more on that tangent next time.

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The silverstone Ft-03 mini is probably the most versatile and best small form factor case at the moment. Why does it beat the Tiki, well first off you have to build the falcon tiki with Falcon Northwest which means its super expensive. Also its packed in there like a laptop so hard for the average user to do anything or upgrade it. The Mini takes up the least space on a desk of any, I repeat any sff gaming computer. You can take off 3 sides of the mini with no tools for screws and it is quality aluminum, Maingear makes a great mini build and several hundred dollars cheaper then a tiki. Now my favorite kinda small gaming computer is the Coolermaster Xf B cube. This thing is awesome but unfortunately cant travel carry on. Honorable mention to X51, sugo cases and lian li cases waiting on the new Falcon Fragbox to see if it brings more to the table then sugo cases in looks and construction

Ron, it’s worth mentioning that the FT-03 Mini is 150% of the cubic volume of Falcon Northwest’s Tiki. More precisely, it’s 7.44″ wide, 15.6″ tall, and has a depth of 9.25″. Compare this to the Tiki: 4″ wide, 13.24″ tall, and 13.5″ of depth. the Tiki is barely larger than an Xbox 360, and if you INCLUDE the massive power brick from Alienware’s X51, the Tiki is also much smaller than that chassis.

In FNW’s defense, I’m confident anyone buying a rig from them is an enthusiast confident enough in the company that they have no desire to make upgrades…They’re affluent, have the cash, and probably understand that upgrading is out of the question going in.

FWIW, I think you’re going to be impressed with the new Fragbox. I’ve spoken to the company about it in detail, and its capabilities are off the charts.